O/T HID headlight citation
 

My girlfriend drives an FX-45. We were pulled over last night by Harris County Constable because our headlights were “Purple.” Okay yes they are HID headlights and were factory equipped on the vehicle. She got a ticket for an equipment violation. Now what the hell you do to prove that they are not illegal. I have also installed aftermarket HID’s in my Supra and Intrepid but have never been pulled over. Has anyone ever had this happen? Please weigh in.

Roby

Take the ticket to your dealer and ask them for your money back for selling you an illegal car <EWG>. That should inspire them to provide you all the backup info you could need.

-Greg

Great answer! :D

Look up the law that you broke. It should be written on the ticket.

I got a ticket once for driving with my factory installed fog lights on.

Bring the factory window sticker to court with you. If your dealer cares, he should go with you.

I'd also contact the local department of transportation to see if HID lights are legal or not.

Sounds like you got a cop with a bug up his butt. Probably the Krispy Kreme was out of his favorite donuts.

This is an issue for >>>> TROUTLY!!!!

But how many cars have HID headlights? A lot!

All new BMW, Mercedes, Acuras, Infinities, Lexus. I shouldn't be bothered with this crap. Pretty soon all new cars will have HID headlights and what are they goin to do then? Write all of us tickets.

Yes I agree, Troutly come in

Roby

my mercedes has them. i always wonder if the cops will mistake me for a boy racer punk kid and pull me over. i expect that they will realize it's a mercedes (not a ricer racer) and i'm not a punk kid (young professional) and don't bother me. if not, then lord help them.

Don't pay the ticket. Enter a plea of "not guilty". Request a bench trial. Let them PROOVE that you have aftermarket head lights. THEY CAN'T! Case dismissed.

The other technique would be to call the da and explain that you have oe headlights.

If its sold as original equipment, that means the DOT and the NHTSA have ok'd them on a federal level. You shouldnt have been written this ticket. Only problem is your judge may be just as dull as the cop, and not as bright as your lights. Hope you can beat it. Let us know how it turns out.

Good luck.

I guess the real problem is: how often is this going to happen? I don't want to go and fight every ticket I get. Yes it did come as OEM on the car (2004 Infinity FX-45) I was just wondering if any of you guys that have them were ever pulled over or ticketed for this. Like I said I do have the aftermarket HIDs (real HID not colored bulbs) on my other 2 cars and have never been stopped.

Roby

The cop just wanted to check out the new wheels.

I guess Troutly is on patrol...around the donut shop.

NOBODY makes Sheriff Buford T Justice look like a Posums pecker !!!!!!

Try and call the prosecuters office and explain what happened. You may be able to avoid the court date.

I have gotten pulled over in my brothers IS300.. he has the HID headlights as well. I didnt get a ticket though after I opened the hood and showed him the headlight assembly that had the HID box on the back....

I wish all cars did have HID headlights so the drivers of them would realize how f^cking annoying and distracting they are when a set is 10' off your rear bumper! Dont get me wrong, we have a car w/ HID's and they really are great... if you're the one driving it. Just sucks to be at the receiving end of these things. Blows my mind that the gov. has given them their blessing.


While we are on the topic, I went to replace a 9007 bulb the other day in a standard halogen headlight system. When I was in Auto Zone I realized the new bulbs come in all different color temperatures. One set was rated @ 4000 degrees (a more pure white), I believe HID's are @ 5000. A standard halogen bulb is somewhere around 3000 degrees (more orange). I seem to recall natural sunlight is around 5200 degrees. Has anyone ever tried these new bulbs? They are expensive (around $37 for the pair compared to $12 for std.) and the package claims they are legal. I'm sure they are because they are still standard wattage (55w/65w) and still below the 5000+ degrees of the HID's. Since the color rating is so close to the HID's I was wondering if any of you know if they perform similarly??? I didnt bite because I assumed if they work equally as well everybody would have them...

You are referring to the colored bulbs. You will lose light power in the distance however they tend to illuminate reflective objects better, (stop signs, lane markers bicycles) but mostly they are used for the cheap looks of HID though. Any experienced eye can tell the difference. The surprise I got though is that I do use the aftermarket HID bulbs in my Supra & Intrepid. These are not the colored bulbs; they are the true HID 6000K that uses the ballast. They are not DOT approved but I never got pulled oven in those cars. We got pulled over in our new 2004 Infinity FX-45 that did have the DOT approval and came from the factory equipped.

Roby

Good Luck! That's all I have to say. You are going to spend more time and money trying to beat a senseless ticket. Cop was probably clueless on the laws or just trying to rack up some revenue. MY buddy is a cop and I can't tell you how many tickets he writes that get blown out. Yet he still get's MUCHO $$ in Overtime n court time. I think at times he writes these tix just to head back to court to make more money

I notice that the BMW xenons only have a tinge of blue offcenter. The Benz xenons are similar.

The HIDs I see on Honda Accords run the full spectrum of colors as you go offcenter.

All of the aftermarket colored "pure white" "xenon look" or "HID style" bulbs I've seen run the color wheel offcenter too. PLUS most of the jokers that go for the $25 imitation bulb don't have enough sense to realize that you gotta re-aim your lamps every time you change out a bulb. This means that most of the lowrider trucks with blue headlights have them aimed all over creation and mostly in other people's eyes.

The only distraction I've encountered with premium HID ballasted headlamps in CARS (not SUVs) is that when the roads are hilly, you can get one right in the eyeball if an HID car is topping the hill in front of you and coming towards you (ouch). SUV's on the other hand, have the headlights mounted too high in my opinion for HID bulbs. Puts them where they burn out your retinas if they pull up behind you or are in front of you (and pointed at you) in the turning lane at a stoplight.

Precinct 4 Constable did the exact same thing to me off 1960 one night...I went to cypresswood courthouse and it was dismissed. The Deputy was so pissed that he was arguing with the DA over the charge. When he gave me the ticket I told him"Just give me the ticket because it will never stand in court". Then I proceeded to tell him that he is a peace officer and not an atty so don's try and act like one. After his smart ass remarks I made a suggestion to start going to North Harris if he wanted to be a lawyer so bad.

They have "goals" that they are "asked" to try and obtain. I have had several tickets that just disappeared because they were never turned in...Don't worry about it it will be dismissed then you can send the county a bill for your time.

And by "goals" I mean quotas...I have several Sheriff Deputy buddys and they all say that at the beginning of their shift they nail everything they can in case it gets slow later in the shift. And if the get several legit tickets then they won't turn in the bogus ones like you got...Remember this is revenue to them so don't take it personal:)

Yes this was precinct 4 Constable that gave me the ticket. It was on Cypresswood Dr approx a mile east of the courthouse. It was late and he was blazing back for shift change. He must have been off the quota pace because he damn near couldn't slow down fast enough to catch the turn around.

Roby

Roby,
What do you think of your HID conversion kits that you have? How do they compare to factory systems that are designed for these bulbs. I'm thinking of converting the lights in my commuter car that is used often in the dark. Also, do you still have high/low beams or just lows after the conversion? I just went online and found this car uses 9007 bulbs.

So you were between Kuykendahl and Veterans by Wimbledon Champions? I was off Ella@1960 and in total darkness it does make the lights look blue/purple. But they still give out white light which is perfectly legal. So you have to see Judge Adams? Just explain that you have OE Infinity lighting and that you in no way altered your lighting system and you will be on your way...This is exactly why they want to get rid of the constables over here, waste to much taxpayers money.